Dye aging process



Feb; 17, 1953 R. w. JACOBY 7 2,628,884

DYE AGING PROCESS Filed Nov. 16, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 IN V EN TOR.

Zia mafia Feb. 17, 1953 w JACOBY 2,628,884

DYE AGING PROCESS Filed NOV. 16, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 IN V EN TOR.

" JYaymand Patented Feb. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Raymond W. J acoby, Mountain Lakes, N. J. Application November 16, 1949, Serial No. 127,644

1 Claim.

' My invention relates to what is known as vat color printing or dyeing, or discharge printing and particularly to ageing or treating vat color prints or dyes or discharge prints or any other product where a reduction is necessary by suit ablereagents, such as, with hydrosulphite.

The chemical reactions and physical reactions, such as liberation of latent heat or vaporization of steam by the absorption of moisture by the cloth may cause the steam to reach a temperature of 240 Fahrenheit or even more. This excess heat produces super-heated steam which retards the action as the relative humidity drops and as the temperature rises; for instance, at 230 Fahrenheit and atmospheric pressure the steam has a relative humidity of 70 per cent, and at '70 per cent relative humidity the moisture regain is only 50 per cent of what it is at 95 per,

cent relative humidity. As moisture is necessary to dissolve the reduced leuco combination of the vat colors and allow them to be absorbed by the fabric, the reduction in moisture available in the steam at this higher temperature reduces or retards the action. Also, it is found that increase in temperature due to the reactions which occur causes non-uniform temperatures in difierent parts of the box and this further causes an uneven chemical reaction and results in uneven effects upon the goods. It is further found that the excess of heat occurs where the chemical reaction first takes place or the steam first contacts the fabric to produce the reaction desired, and thus at this location the temperature rises to a greater amount than in other locations of the chamber.

One of the objects of my invention is to produce an improved process for treating the fabrics being aged. As is well known, it is essential in such treatment ofprinted or dyed goods, that oxygen of the atmosphere should be kept away from the portions of the fabric undergoing chemical reactions. This is usually accomplished by carrying out the reactions in a suitable chamber from which air has been displaced by a suitable gas, usually live steam.

Another object of this invention is to improve upon the method disclosed in my earlier Patent No. 1,663,845 dated March 27, 1928.

Another object of this invention is to prevent the rise of the temperature of the steam in cer- .tain parts of the apparatus where the fabric passes through.

Another object of this invention is to prevent the rise of the temperatureof the steam at the first portion of the chemical reaction on the goods which takes place in the apparatus.

More specifically, anobject of this invention is to direct a greater volume of steam about the portion of the-fabric where the reaction first occurs so that this greater volume may more readily absorb the greater amount of heat which is present due to the chemical and physical reactions which occur as treatment first com mences.

Another object of this invention to provide two or more chambers either physically separated or close together through which the work passes rather than a single chamber as shown in the above mentioned patent and to exhaust the steam from the chambers beyond the first through the firstchamber where the chemical reaction first occurs so that a greater volume of steam will pass through the location where the reaction first occurs.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel procedural steps, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

' ing a modified form of apparatus;

Figure 4 is a section on line 44 of Figure 3. In carrying forward this invention I provide two or more chambers which may be physically separated but it is possible to utilize an apparatus similar to that shown in my above mentioned patent but modify this apparatus by dividing the volume into -two or more chambers while maintaining the exhaust from the entrance and exit cloth openings into the first chamber thus causing all of the steam which enters the chambers beyond the first chamber to pass through the first chamber in order that it may be exhausted, thereby providing fora greater flow of steam through the first chamber so that the temperature may be reduced in this chamber and super-heating may be reduced to a minimum.

Referring to the figures of the drawings, i8 designates a casing of sheet material with insulation thereover. There is provided a top wall ii and end walls 12 and 13 with side walls i4 and J5 and a bottomwall Hi. The end wall i3 is provided with an opening ll through which the cloth or fabric to be treated 18 enters and leaves the casing. The fabric in thus entering and leaving the casing also passes through a chest is fromwhich leads a conduit 20 for drawing gases out of the casing either by natural flow due to the heat of the gas or by means of a pump 2|, by which the steam may be sucked away and discharged from the casing by means of this pump or blower 2|.

Within the casing I have provided a division wall 22 to divide the casing into a first chamber 23 and a second chamber 24,. A steam pipe 25 controlled as at 26 enters the casing through the wall l3 and extends the length thereof through both chambers 23 and 24. The steam the water to be discharged above its surface and prevent any super-heated steam from. entering the chambers. Between the level of the water 29 and the bottom rollers 33, bafiies 38 known as shingles are inserted and between which steam passes in order to give an even distribution of the steam throughout the. lower portion of the casing and prevent water from spattering on the goods. A trap 5| extends through the wall 12 of the casing so as to prevent the water from rising above a certain predetermined height in the casing, as condensed steam may cause accumulation of the water in the bottom of the casing and an automatic discharge to maintain the proper level will thus be provided.

As the cloth enters the casing through the opening [1, it passes alternately over rolls 32 spaced along the upper portion of the casing and rolls 33 spaced along the lower part of the casing but above the shingle. 'Thus, the cloth passes back and forth indifferent. stretches between the rolls 32 and 33 so as to expose a large part of its surface in the casing to the heated gas there present where reaction may take place.

As the chemical and physical reactions take place, further heat-is liberated and this occurs primarily in zone or chamber '23 into which the cloth first enters prior to its passing from the zone or chamber 23 to the chamber: 24 and within the first'fi'fteen seconds. of beingexposed to the steam. Accordingly, in order that the heat which is liberated in this first chamber may be better absorbed and prevented. from raising the temperature of the steam in this first chamber, the partition or wall 22 is inserted so as to provide that all of the steam in the second chamber in order to leave the chamber must pass' through the first chamber, such as through the restricted passage below the end 48 of this "wall, where the greatest opening occurs between the" chambers. Very little of the steam will pass through the narrow'slot 41 through which the exit' stretch of the cloth I8 passees from thechamber 24' to the chamber 23. This wall 22 extends from oneside i l to the other side of the casing and thus the major' opening 42 provided is' that below the end 49 of the wall. By'this arrangement all of the steam which is in the chamber 24 will pass through the chamber 23 and about the-cloth where reaction is first occurring and the increased volume will serveto reduce'the rise in temperature caused by'the chemical and physical reac tions which are taking place in that chamber to a greater extent than in the later=reactions on the cloth and: thus will preventthe' temperature from rising'j-an'd, consequently; prevent the reduction in the percentage of relativehum'idity of the steam in the chamber and thus in turn supply a greater amount of moisture to the cloth, which is desirable for the greater development of the colorv on the cloth.

The relativevolume of steam supplied'to the first chamber may be proportioned such for example; if" five times" thevolume of steam is desired to reduce the temperature inthe first chamber, this chamber-will be made one-fifth the total volume of the chambers in which the work is treated.

Trough 45 on the bottom of dividing sheet will carry condensed water: to the side so it will be conveyed by tubes 48 downwardly and will not drop onto the goods.

In some cases instead of arranging the casing and dividing it into chambers, as shown in Figure 1, the opening through the casing, as shown in Figure 3, is located at 51 in the lower part of the casing. The chest l9, conduit 2|] and blower 2| are the same as described in Figure 1, as are also other parts being similarly numbered such as control 26. However, in this arrangement a division Wall 59 to provide the first chamber 58 isshown as extending upwardly from the shingle 39 to a point just short of one. of the upper rolls 32 so that all of the steam from the other chamber or chambers will have to pass over the top of the wall 59 and then acrossthe chamber 58 to exit opening 51.

In some cases it may be desirable to have a second chamber 89 and a third chamber 6| by providing an additional division wall 62 extending downwardly and substantially a duplicate of the wall 22 which is shown in Figure: 1, there being provided at the end of this wall troughs with their conduits 49, as heretofore described.

In this case, by having three chambers with the walls between them alternating, it is necessary for the steam in chamber: 91 to pass beneath the wall 82, into the chamber BI], and then this steam from both of these chambers must pass over the upper end of the wall 59 and then downwardly again to be extracted from the lower part of the first chamber 58 thus providing a large flowing volumeof steam in the first chamher.

I claim:

The process of ageing or reducing printed or dyed fabric arranged in back and forth parallel courses in one major zone wherein the heating of the steam therein is reduced which comprises dividing the major zone into a smaller initial reacting sub-zone and a larger sub-zone, passing the fabric initially into the smaller sub-zoneand thence to the larger sub-zone and conducting all of the steam from the larger sub-zone to the smaller sub-zone through a restricted passage whereby the steam entering the smaller sub-zone has increased turbulence between the parallel courses and then conducting the steam from the first sub-zone adjacent the point of entry of the fabric.

RAYMOND W.' J ACOBY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain l Dec, 2'9, 1936 

